Chapter 88 CHAPTER 88
The Iron Islands.
Pyke, Great Keep, Council Hall.
Balon Greyjoy sat at the head of the long table, while Asha and Victarion stood at his left and right.
Across from the three stood a man wearing a patch over his left eye, Euron Greyjoy, known throughout the seas as Crow's Eye.
His lips were stained blue from years of drinking shade-of-the-evening.
At this moment, Euron wore a faint smile as he looked toward the three of them.
Yet neither Balon, Asha, nor Victarion paid any attention to his expression.
All their eyes were fixed upon the horn lying atop the long table.
The horn measured nearly two meters in length and was banded with red gold and Valyrian steel.
Whenever sunlight filtered through the windows, the horn reflected a dark and dazzling gleam.
Balon's eyes burned with desire.
Unable to restrain himself, he slowly rose from his seat and walked toward the table, gently caressing the strange ancient glyphs carved upon the horn's surface.
Instantly, the smooth touch beneath his fingers felt as soft and delicate as the thigh of a young maiden.
Balon stared deeply at the horn and could even see his own distorted reflection upon its polished surface.
"So this is the dragon horn?"
He slowly withdrew his hand before suddenly turning his gaze toward the brother he had exiled many years ago.
Back then, Euron had slept with Victarion's salt wife.
Although Victarion himself cared little for the woman, Balon still used the incident as an excuse to exile this younger brother, whose madness surpassed even his own.
Until today.
If he did not need the power of dragons to challenge the Iron Throne, Balon would never have permitted Euron to return.
The present Euron seemed very different from before.
He no longer appeared as wildly unpredictable and crazed as he once had.
Instead, he looked calm and restrained.
Yet Balon vaguely felt that the current Euron resembled a giant barrel of wildfire.
The calmness was only a disguise.
Once ignited, his madness would burn everyone around him into ashes.
Euron's remaining eye carried a strange smile as he met Balon's gaze.
"Yes."
"This is the dragon horn I brought back from the ruins of Valyria after enduring countless dangers."
"Its name is Dragonbinder."
"Dragonbinder?"
Balon's eyes narrowed slightly.
"And how is it used?"
Euron answered honestly.
"Simple."
"Blow the horn, and dragons will obey your will."
Asha immediately frowned.
"It's that simple?"
Euron glanced sideways at his niece and nodded.
"Yes."
"It really is that simple."
However, suspicion flashed within Balon's eyes.
He knew Euron too well.
Nothing involving his brother could ever truly be simple.
Sure enough, Euron suddenly added in a strange tone,
"Of course, using it requires paying a certain... price."
"Price?"
Victarion stared fixedly at Euron.
"What price?"
The corners of Euron's lips curved upward into an unreadable smile.
"The life of the man who blows the horn."
The atmosphere instantly froze.
Balon and the others visibly stiffened.
"Their life?"
Balon lowered his gaze, anger appearing in his voice.
"Euron, are you trying to toy with me?"
Victarion's eyes also regained clarity from their earlier fascination.
Meanwhile, Asha's face became even uglier as she scoffed openly.
"If blowing the horn kills the user, then what use is controlling dragons afterward?"
"Will the dead rise again to ride them?"
After speaking, she let out two mocking laughs.
Yet Asha's mockery reminded Balon of something.
Euron definitely still had secrets he had not revealed.
Balon stared directly at him, his expression turning colder.
"Euron."
"If you continue playing games with me, I'll cut out your tongue and feed it to the fish."
Euron merely shrugged helplessly.
"My brother, you remain as ruthless as ever."
Balon snorted coldly.
"That's because I understand you."
"Don't think your tricks can deceive me."
Euron only smiled faintly without denying it.
He slowly walked to the opposite side of the table and lowered his voice.
"Balon, do you know what I experienced during the years you exiled me?"
"My Silence sailed across nearly every sea in the world."
"From Ib to Asshai, I have walked upon almost every mysterious land beneath the heavens."
"Until one day, inside the ruins of Valyria, I heard the voice of a god."
"A god?"
Asha curled her lips in disdain.
"You abandoned the Drowned God long ago. Why would any god care about you?"
Euron's smile became even stranger.
He did not argue with her and simply continued speaking.
"In the ruins of Valyria, guided by that god's voice, I underwent a divine trial."
His voice gradually became fanatical.
"I passed the trial and earned the god's favor."
"The god bestowed upon me a great mission."
"Under divine guidance, I obtained this horn."
"And through prophecy, I discovered the last remaining place where dragons still survive."
At this point, Euron's single eye gleamed with fanaticism.
"Therefore, only I, the one favored by the gods, can blow Dragonbinder without suffering harm."
"Anyone else who blows it will pay with their life."
"If you do not believe me, then by all means, take the horn and have someone test it."
His words exceeded everyone's expectations.
"A god's guidance? A divine mission?"
Balon's heart was filled with suspicion.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he carefully examined Euron again, attempting to determine how much truth lay within those words.
Victarion looked at Euron's fanatical expression and unexpectedly felt a chill run through his body.
"What exactly happened to him in Valyria?"
Compared to Balon and Victarion's caution, young Asha completely dismissed Euron's story as nonsense.
She immediately said,
"Father, let someone blow the horn."
"If it's true, we'll know immediately."
Balon suppressed the doubts within his heart and finally nodded after a brief silence.
"Victarion."
"Bring in a servant."
Victarion turned and strode from the hall.
Soon afterward, he dragged in a servant of mixed blood who had been sweeping outside.
Pointing toward the horn, Victarion ordered coldly,
"You."
"Blow the horn."
The servant quickly bowed repeatedly.
After glancing nervously toward Balon and seeing no objection, he hurried forward.
Balon and Asha stepped backward slightly to make room.
Euron also quietly retreated several steps, the smile never leaving his lips.
The servant stared at the enormous horn before swallowing nervously.
Then he placed his lips against the mouth of Dragonbinder and blew with all his strength.
The next instant.
A terrifying horn blast erupted from Dragonbinder.
The sound resembled the screams of thousands of tortured souls.
Everyone who heard it felt as though their bones had begun burning from within, while invisible flames scorched their flesh and blood.
The sound burst through the windows and spread across Pyke.
From the Great Keep to the Bloody Keep and across the entire island fortress, everyone who heard the horn instinctively raised their heads toward its source.
"Gods..."
The sound was so terrifying and sacred that many devout followers of the Drowned God immediately fell to their knees in prayer.
Accompanied by the frightened cries of the faithful, the entire castle descended into chaos and fanaticism.
Inside the council hall, matters were no better.
When the horn blast finally ended, a thin trail of smoke slowly rose from Dragonbinder.
The servant who had blown the horn stood motionless.
Blood and terrible blisters covered his mouth, while even the tattoos upon his chest had begun bleeding.
His body trembled violently several times before collapsing heavily to the ground, completely dead.
Asha looked at the corpse in horror.
"Gods..."
Balon's expression darkened as he stared fixedly at the servant's body.
The last traces of doubt in his heart gradually disappeared, replaced by deep apprehension.
"If only Euron can use this horn safely, then what value does it truly have to me?"
"If dragons can only obey Euron, then I would rather destroy this horn than help him seize dragons!"
Balon's gaze returned to Dragonbinder, and for the first time, he felt the horn had become nothing more than a cursed burden.
Then Euron's voice entered his ears once more.
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